Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (Post-Game Transcript)
On why the offense has looked inconsistent for a long period of time:
“A combination of a lot of things. Ultimately, you look inward first and I see it as how the flow of things has gone for us this year and being practical about that. I can’t turn the ball over, so the ultimate goal is to go out there and find a way to win. That’s been a direct correlation with success for us being able to protect the ball and so that really, really killed us.”
On what happened on the interception:
“It was really escaping the pocket. I saw [Bears DB] Kevin [Byard III] coming over and I knew there was a chance he was going to be able to make a play on the ball. Just was trying to give him a chance and throw it to the sideline where [Eagles WR] A.J. [Brown] could try and make a play on it, and I wasn’t able to connect with him.”
On whether he felt his progress was stopped on the play on which he fumbled:
“I was hoping that it was stopped, but it wasn’t. It was kind of similar to the New York [Giants] game except that they just didn’t blow the whistle as soon. That’s not to point the finger at anyone else. I mean, I have to hold onto the ball. It definitely presents itself as an issue and it always has. It’s just never gotten us and so today it got us and it’s something that we and I need to tighten up.”
On whether the tush push can sometimes lend itself to issues with ball security:
“It’s been like that for a very long time.”
On whether teams have figured out how to defend the tush push:
“It’s becoming tougher and tougher. But ultimately, me holding onto the ball, that’s something I can control.”
On how the success of a tempo offense can translate to a non-tempo offense:
“Well, you’re almost imposing your will on the defense and you’re in attack mode and so I think aggressiveness looks different. It doesn’t mean taking a shot every play, it doesn’t mean throwing the ball down the field or doing extreme things. It just means having an identity and sitting in that identity and going out there and living in that.”
On why the third-down slant to Eagles WR Devonta Smith didn’t hook up:
“No, not a check. It was two guys on two different pages and that’s a bit of the issues that we’ve kind of been having. We weren’t detailed enough in that, I wasn’t detailed enough in instructing him on what to do as we prepared and making myself clear on that, and so I’m trying to find as many particulars as I can when it comes to the level of execution we have, and that’s a group effort that has to be there.”
On if it is a concern the offense isn’t on the same page at this point of the season:
“It’s not ideal. It’s not something that you desire, but going off of how the flow this year is going, it’s kind of similar to my response last week and saying ‘no’ of any surprises of where we are. It’s just a matter of picking ourselves up, and continuing to press forward, and staying together in it, and being committed to it.”
On the running game:
“I know there’s some that we all want back in the run game, just from an overall execution standpoint, and I can’t point to one thing and say, ‘This is what it is.’ Ultimately, we just have to take advantage of our opportunities when they are there. There can be a ton of different opinions on what or why, but when the opportunity’s there, you have to strike and we can’t let the things get us that have almost gotten us. They’re getting us now. So, we have to definitely regroup and reassess and find ways to eliminate the things that have held us back.”
On his relationship with Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo:
“Just a kind of pressing of moving forward. That’s it. Going out there and trying to find ways to move the offense down the field, put points on the board and I’m always encouraging of sitting in an identity and so we’ve all got work we’ve got to do.”
On if he’s confident in Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo as a play-caller:
“Yeah, I have confidence in him. I have confidence in this team. I have confidence in us when we’re collaborative. I have a lot of confidence when we have an identity, so I think that’s the first thing that we have to establish that we’ve talked about.”
On the team running more RPOs:
“I can’t say that was necessarily the gameplan. We had some different things in order to take advantage of what we thought were some opportune looks. It’s just a matter of getting to those things through the midst of the game.”
On his locker room conversation with Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo:
“No. We’re all pressing forward trying to improve and make the most of the opportunity we have.”
On if he would have preferred to run a different play other than the tush push on the third-and-short situation:
“I can’t fumble the ball.”
On what experience has taught him on how to move forward when things are not going well:
“We have to definitely stay together. Stay committed to what the team is trying to accomplish. In the end, no one ever said it was going to be easy, and we’ve got to embrace the challenge. We’ve got to embrace this time and respond to it the right way.”
On being aggressive or worrying about ball security:
“Well, ball security is very important to going out there and winning games. I know that being a perspective that people have had or a narrative that’s been built from the approach. That approach has served us well and I don’t think that approach is an issue. I think we just have to go out there and execute. Again, you can be aggressive and still protect the ball. So, we’ve got to find that formula for us.”
On how he will be spending his time during the long week:
“I’ll be working.”
On using his legs during his best drive and if he will improve upon that:
“I’ll be working.”